Doctor Who:The Child Snatcher
by Flaming Overlord
Summary: Thornwood used to be a quiet town until children started disappearing. Lynn Breach fears for the children in her class when the Doctor appears. Urban legend and reality begin to come together as the Doctor and Lynn discover who's snatching children.


Andrew ran, though no matter how fast he ran that man was right behind him. The man was _always _behind the boy.

"Sissy!" He cried, the pain in his stomach growing. His voice echoed through the tall pines, but with no answer. Andrew's eyes watered, blurring his vision. He glanced behind, caught a glimpse of black and white, and continued forward. The boy shivered. He could feel the man-as though his gaze was always on the boy. _But he can't have a gaze_, Andrew thought.

The boy ran into something, knocking him back. His brown curls bounced as he fell to the ground. He looked up. A tall, slender man in a black business suit looked down at him, though the man's face hid in shadow. The man raised a hand-fingers long and white.

Andrew screamed.

Doctor Who: The Child Snatcher

Lynn looked down at the headline as her class played in the playground. _Another child goes missing_, was written in large letters across the front page. She sighed, folded the paper, and placed it beside her on the wooden bench. She place hand down, scratching off the chipped purple paint. The children played tag, climbed on the monkey bars, swung on the swings. The trees swayed in a light breeze, causing the limbs of the pines to creak and their needles to bristle. The children's laughter rang in the air, though something was missing.

Lynn glanced back to the news print. 'Andrew Allen' caught her eye immediately. _Poor Andy_, she thought. Another from her class-gone. She started out with twenty-seven, now she only had twenty-three. The thought made her want to cry. She talked with some of the missing children's family's and grieved with them. They were like her children too after all.

Something caught her eye to the left. A man leaned against an oak at the edge of the playground. He wore a black vest and necktie with a white undershirt. His light brown hair ruffled in the wind. The man put both hands into his pockets and eyed the children.

_Something's not right_, Lynn thought. She was just about to call security when the bell rang. She sighed, but stood.

"Everyone, line up!" She said, cupping her hands over her mouth. The children ran from their swings, the sandbox, and the monkey bars, and flocked to her. As her children lined up, she glanced back to the oak. The man was gone.

The class filed into the classroom, taking their seats. Lynn walked over to the window and pulled back the purple curtains, letting in the sunlight. It warmed her arm as soon as the rays hit her. She turned to find the children lifting up their desk tops, pulling out crayons and pencils. The light reflected of the white walls, the glossy posters shining. In the door way, stood the man. Lynn glared at him, but the man just looked around the room. Her eyes narrowed when his gaze met hers.

"Alright, Children," Lynn said. "I want you to take out a piece of paper and your math book. Do problems 26 through 31 on page 62." The fourth graders did as they were told, except for little Jimmy Bolten, but with a quick look he too took out his textbook. Lynn shifted her glare back to the man. The man gave a smile and waved.

"May I help you?" Lynn said as she approached.

"Hello," the man said. "Sorry to interrupt class. I would just like to take a look at Andy Allen's desk?"

Lynn crossed her arms. Her face scrunched into a scowl. _Why do you want to look at it?_ After all, the police had done all they could. And then here's this man…

"Who are you?" she asked. The man's blue eyes widened.

"Oh, of course," he replied, leaning back and slapping himself on the head. "So sorry. I'm the Doctor." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black I.D. case. He flipped in open and inside an I.D.-_The Doctor, Thornwood Police Department. _Lynn eyed the it before turning her attention back to the Doctor.

"All it says is the Doctor," Lynn said. "Doctor Who?"

"This is his over here then?" The Doctor asked, pointing at the only vacant desk in the room and walking toward it.

"Yeah, but-" Lynn said, but stopped when she noticed that the children were looking at her and this "doctor". The Doctor stood in front of Andy's desk, stroking the wooden top. His eyes narrowed. He kneeled down, taking the desk in at eyelevel.

"What are you doing?" Lynn whispered.

"Don't mind me," the Doctor replied. "I won't take long." Lynn grunted. She cast a glance back to the other children. Most of them had returned to their work, while one or two of them still watched. The Doctor reached into the inside of his waistcoat and pulled out a pair of eyeglasses.

"A stranger comes into my classroom and says not to mind him," Lynn muttered, casting another glance at her class. When she glanced back, the Doctor stared up at her.

"You really care for them don't you," he said. "Don't worry. I'm here to help."

Lynn's eyes scanned the Doctor. After years of being a teacher-years of reading children to see if they were lying about not turning in their homework -she knew a lie from the truth. But the Doctor just looked up, his eyes soft. Lynn nodded. The Doctor nodded and returned to looking at the desktop.

"So tell me, Ms…?"

"Breach," Lynn said, crossing her arms. "Lynn Breach."

"Well then, Ms. Breach," the Doctor said standing. It wasn't until then that she noticed that the Doctor came up to her five foot eight inches height. "Tell me, have you checked his desk?" With that, he lifted the desktop. Books lay in haphazard piles within, surrounded by loose papers and pencils.

The Doctor reached his hand into the thicket, swirled it around as though blindly searching for something, and then snatched up a couple crumpled paper balls. Lynn moved closer as he laid them on the floor-two in all. As the Doctor opened a ball, beyond the sea of creases, she saw a crude drawing in black crayon of a tall, skinny man. He wore a business suit, the tie tucked into his jacked. An oval took the place of the man's head. No face was drawn. Lynn saw the Doctor's brow furrow.

He laid it aside and picked up another ball. The Doctor opened it. "_Run, run. He watches you," _obscured most of the crinkled page with a circle-an X drawn through the center.

"Hm," the Doctor said. "That's interesting."

"What is it?" Lynn said.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all," the Doctor said, taking off his glasses and tucking them and the two papers inside his waistcoat. He glanced up and smiled. "Anyway, best be off. Thank you for your time." With that, he hopped up and walked toward the door.

"Wait a minute," Lynn said loud enough to make the children look up. Her shoes _clacked _on the tile floor as she followed him out the door. The Doctor turned back around. The florescent lights flickered over the two of them, making the tan corridor's walls become lighter and then darker and then lighter. "You never answered my question! Who _are_ you?"

"I've already told you. I'm the Doctor?"

"But Doctor _Who?_

The Doctor smiles and leaned in.

"Exactly," he said. The Doctor gave a wink, turned, and walked down the hall.

Lynn sat at her desk all day, thinking about the man who entered her classroom. The doctor? Doctor who? She grunted to herself when she thought of the question. _How could he be a doctor of any kind? He hardly looks over eighteen. _The day seemed to pass more slowly than any had in a while. Lynn kept expecting the Doctor to return, but he didn't.

The wind swept down McDonald Road, causing the trees in their neatly hedged lawns to rustle. Lynn kept her head down as her blond hair whipped around her head. Her right arm held onto the strap of the purse slung over her shoulder. She glanced up. The sidewalks were deserted. Hardly even a car passed. The view made Lynn shiver. _This whole kidnapping thing must have everyone freaking out._

_Crunch_.

Lynn stopped and turned around, her body tense. There was no one there, just the house lined street. About a couple of blocks away she saw Thornberry Primary School—the gray, two-story building making her feel cold.

"Stop it, you idiot," she said. Her shoulders eased as her voice broke the silence. It was broad daylight after all. She walked on, though her footfalls still sounded too loud. _If only…I know who was doing this? Could it really be this "doctor"?_

_ SNAP!_

Lynn spun around. A man stood under a tree, about a few yards away in the yard of a mauve two-story colonial.

"Doctor?" Lynn muttered. No that wasn't right. This man was far too tall and thin to be the Doctor. The branches hung over, hiding his face. The man stood still-as though he were made of stone-in a black business suit.

"Hello?" Lynn said. The man didn't answer. He didn't even move.

Lynn gripped her hand to keep if from shaking. A lump seemed to be lodged in her throat, though no matter how many times she swallowed, it wouldn't go down.

"He-hello," she said again. Though she couldn't see the man's face, she just knew that he was looking at her. She took a small step back, eyes focused on the-

"AHHHHHH!"

Lynn screamed. She flailed around, fists clinched, as she turned.

"Woh," a boy with blonde hair said holding up his hands, while the other—a young man-doubled over, laughing. Lynn's arms came back down, shaking.

"Roger! Alex!" She said through grit teeth.

"Sorry, Lynn," Alex said. "It was all Roger's idea!"

"Really Roger?" Lynn said as she rolled her eyes. "You're eighteen, act like it!"

"Pft, you liked it!" Roger said, his laughter lessening. Alex rolled his eyes and pushed Roger. Lynn grunted and glanced back at the tree. The slender man was gone.

"What are you looking at, Lynn?" Alex asked. She turned back to the two boys. Even Roger looked up, any sign of laughter gone. The young man moved aside an auburn bang, his eyes focusing on her. How long had she been looking in that direction? _I didn't even hear Roger stop laughing. _The hairs on the back of Lynn's arms stood up.

"That man…" she said. "Didn't you just see that really tall man over there?" Lynn pointed in the direction of the tree. The two's gazes followed her finger. Alex took a step back, his green eyes wide, while Roger's blue eyes narrowed.

"What man?" Roger said.

"Didn't you see him?" Lynn asked. "Right _there-_in the business suit?"

Alex took another step back and his lip quivered.

"Stop it!" Alex said. "It's not funny!" With that, the boy turned and ran inside. Roger watched him until the front door closed behind him, shaking his head.

"Stupid," Roger said. "Fourteen and still afraid of the bogeymen."

"Go in," Lynn said, gesturing toward the light blue Wingate house. "It's not safe for you out here."

Roger rolled his eyes, but gave a little wave and went inside. Lynn watched as the door closed and then looked back. Still, there was no one under the tree in front of the mauve house or…? _Stop it, Lynn_, she told herself. _Don't let your imagination get the best of you_.

_And Joyce turned to him and said…_

_ …_

_ "_Of course," Lynn muttered, tapping her fingers on the desk-glaring at the computer screen. _Writer's block in the most convenient times. _She grunted, pushing the keyboard away. She leaned back, rubbed her eyes, and then looked out into the apartment around her. It was mainly just one room, though light-brown wood floors covered the floors. The only two doors were the one directly in front that led out into the hall, and the one on the right wall for the restroom.

She glanced at her bed, the sheets askew with a pillow in the middle and another at the foot of the bed. Lynn's eyes fluttered at the thought of falling onto the mattress. _No_, she thought. _Not until I can at least get this chapter done. Just a few hundred words to go. _But what to write next? She grunted.

Lynn minimized the manuscript on her laptop, and clicked onto the internet. _Now, what will get me into the mood to write?_ she thought as _Google_ lit up her screen. She drummed her fingers on the table. When her hands found their way to the keyboard, Lynn typed a single word into the search bar-_ Doctor_.

The screen changed to white as soon as she hit the _enter_ key. A list of websites appeared. She scrolled down the list, though all that seemed to pop up were '_Doctor Grimstone, psychiatrist.' _or _'Doctor Ulic, pediatrician.' _

_ Why am I doing this?_ she thought. _Maybe I should try the Police Department's websi-_

_ 'Doctor Who? True or False?'_ The link seemed to stand out to the sea of pediatricians and psychiatrists. She clicked on it. A purple background appeared, followed by the layout of a _Tumblr_ blog. _Doctor Who_? Sprawled across the top of the page. Under it was a blurry picture of a man in a black waistcoat and tie. '1965' labeled the photo.

_That can't be_, she thought. She squinted her eyes, trying to see if it really was the Doctor. It looked so much like him…_But if that's true then he must at least sixty._ Lynn scrolled down to the first paragraph-

_A series of urban legends and myths cloud our world today in mystery, though none is more compelling than that of the Doctor. Throughout time, the Doctor has appeared, and with him follows destruction. Though it is said that he takes multiple forms, he has always appeared before the eve of a major disaster-a few of the most recent being a spacecraft crashing into Big Ben in London in 2005, The Battle of Canary Wharf in 2006, and the a London attack better known as 'Christmas Star' in 2007._

Lynn's eyes widened.

"What does this mean," she grunted. She scratched her blonde head. _Think_, she thought. _Okay, so the Doctor shows up here. Children disappear. There's a tall man in the suit. The Doctor took Andrew Allen's pictures. _

She drummed her fingers on the table. Was it possible that the Doctor and this tall man were related? _If the Doctor took Andy's pictures-if he had been studying his life-then that would lead him-_

Lynn's eyes widened. She shot up from her chair, snatched up the coat on the back of it, and ran out the door.

It only took Lynn about ten minutes to get to Andy's house on foot, though by the time she reached the front door her side ached, and she had to lean against it and catch her breath. When her breathing steadied, she took a quick look around. The streetlamps cast a yellow light onto Robert Street. Lynn turned back to the light blue door. None of the windows seemed lit except for the first on the left of the door, though that was just a series of blue and green flashes.

Lynn walked up and knocked on the door. A few seconds passed, though she heard shuffling on the other side. Her eyebrows furrowed. Was there something going on inside?

She leaned over the railing, but the curtains hid the room behind. She knocked again and then looked around—

About a yard away, beneath the shadow of a tree, stood a tall, thin man in a business suit. He said nothing and did nothing. He just stood there. Lynn's vocals tightened.

"Ms. Allen," she said, her eyes never leaving the man. She knocked again, though her body tensed. "Open the door! Please." Lynn glanced at the window. Still nothing. When she looked back at the man he stood just on the edge of the tree limbs. The streetlamp shined from behind him, making him a silhouette. _That's impossible_, she thought. _His arms nearly touch the ground._ The man tilted his head and raised one of his impossibly long arms—

The door swung open. Someone pulled her inside. Lynn screamed.

She spun around, her fists raised when—the Doctor. He shoved the door shut, took out what looked like a pen, and aimed it at the lock. A purple light shined on the end of it, followed by a _buzzing_ sound, and then Lynn heard the sound of the lock. The Doctor turned, and when he saw her his brow furrowed.

"What are you doing here?" They asked simultaneously. "I asked you first. No you didn't!"

Lynn shook her head.

"Okay," she said. "Enough with the unison. What are _you _doing here?"

"Official…police…stuff," the Doctor said, though as he said it his eyes wondered as though plucking the words from thin air. "What about you?"

"Ms. Allen?" Lynn called, glancing around the dark hall. A young woman with wavy brown hair popped out of the living room. When she saw Lynn, she tilted her head but approached.

"Ms. Breach?" Andy's sister, Jess, said. "What are you doing here?"

"Um," the Doctor said, pulling back the blue curtains of a living room window and glancing outside. "_That's_ rather unusual…"

"What is?" Lynn said, and then she remembered the man outside the door. The hairs on her arms stood. "He's still out there, isn't he?"

"Well," the Doctor said with a chuckle. "I'm not quite sure rather to call it a him or not, but for the time being I think I will call him a him because—"  
"Get on with it!"

"He has no face."

_What?_ Lynn walked over to the Doctor's side, grabbed the curtain, but then stopped. That fear she had felt when she looked at the man-Lynn shivered on just the memory. It was as though she were looking at a nightmare. _And his arms. They were so long._ Lynn pulled back the curtain.

The tall, slender man stood at the foot of the stairs, staring at the front door.

But it had no eyes. Yet its blank face faced the front—its bald head shining in the streetlamp. That feeling—that fear—crept into Lynn. Her stomach churned. Her limbs shook. She felt as though she were two years old again, in her dark room, and staring at the cracked closet door.

The man's head shot toward the living room window. They all jumped back, and Lynn screamed when she knocked into Jess. _How long had she been watching too?_

"Right!" The Doctor said as he took a deep breath. "Back door?"

"Yeah," Jess said, spinning around and heading toward the back of the house.

The Doctor followed, and Lynn followed the Doctor. So many questions ran through her head—Was that thing what was stealing the children in her class? What was that thing? How did the Doctor play in all of this? The fear sealed her vocals, so Lynn just ran.

She imaged the Doctor really being an alien who came to help defeat this—the boogyman. He would aim that stick he had with the purple light and a purple ray would shoot through the creature—_Really Lynn?!_ _Now isn't the time!_

They reached the back door, and Jess opened it. They all stepped out into the bare back yard. A six foot wooden fence encircled it with a door toward the front.

"This way!" Jess said as she threw open the fence door.

"No, wait!" The Doctor said, though the young woman ran through the threshold. Jess's body jolted back a few feet in. She screamed as a white, knobby hand wrapped around her face. It looked as though her body was sucked up into the creatures palm until Jess disappeared and all that remained was the faceless man. The Doctor slammed the door.

"Oh my God," Lynn said, running a hand though her hair. "What the hell was that?"

"Dunno," he said, running across the back yard to the other side of the fence. "Come here. Let me give you a boost."

"What do you mean—give me a boost?!"

"Well, we can't very well go out that way, now can we?" he said, gesturing toward the door. Lynn grunted, glancing back. The door shook, and she could just see the top of the creatures head. She turned back to the Doctor. He had his knees bent and his hands cupped together. She thought he looked a bit silly in that position in his waistcoat and tie—_Focus Lynn!_

"Trust me," he said.

Lynn sighed, but positioned her feet. The door shook harder, so that sound of the hinges shaking filled the night. She ran, and then jumped. Her foot landed in the Doctor's hands, and he lifted her up as she grabbed the top of the fence and swung her legs over in midair. Her knees buckled as she hit the ground.

"Um, excuse me." Lynn turned. Half the Doctor was visible over the fence—or more accurately—a leg, an arm, and his head. "A little help, if you don't mind!"

Lynn sighed, but reached up, grabbed his arm, and tugged. The Doctor rolled, his other leg coming up. She heard the sound of the fence door burst open. Finally, the Doctor rolled off the fence and landed face first on the grass.

"Not the most graceful man, are you," Lynn muttered. The Doctor leapt up, grass stains green against the white shirt beneath his waistcoat.

"Quick, to the school," he said, running past her.

"What in the hell's at the school?!" Lynn said as she ran after him.

Roger sat in the recliner while Alex cooked something in the kitchen. Mom still wasn't home. Dad was upstairs, locked in his room—most likely drunk. Just another night. He sighed as he flipped the channel on the television.

"Did you die in there or something, Alex?" He called.

"Be there in a minute!" Alex called back. Roger slumped farther into the recliner.

"Wait, Doctor!" A voice said from outside. Roger muted the TV. He heard the feet as they ran on concrete. He stood and walked over the window. Lynn and a man who wore a black waistcoat, tie, and a white undershirt ran past his house. The man's brown hair stood up as he ran, while Lynn grunted as her blonde hair whipped her in the face.

_No_, he thought. _It couldn't be _him.

"Hey Alex," Roger called over his shoulder. "I'm going out."

Lynn and the Doctor reached the front doors of Thornwood Primary.

"It's locked," she said, glancing up at the two story building. All the windows were black, and she half expected to see silhouettes in them—gazing down. The Doctor bent over to examine the keyhole before he took out the object with the purple light at the end.

"What is that?" Lynn asked, checking behind her. The streets were still clear.

"Sonic Screwdriver," The Doctor said as he aimed the device at the keyhole.

"That _really_ explains everything."

The purple light at the end of the sonic screwdriver lit, followed by a _buzzing _sound. A _click _came from the door. The Doctor turned, but stopped and stared at something behind her.

"What is i—" Lynn said, but stopped when she turned. The slender man stood behind them, across the street, watching.

"Um…ahh…" The Doctor said, nodding his head toward the door.

"Yeah," she said, throwing the door open and running inside. The Doctor followed as the creature took its first step onto the street, and then turned to aim the sonic screwdriver at the door before sprinting down the entrance hall.

They ran down the dark corridors, though Lynn knew where they were heading. She had taken her children down her every day for the past three years. They came to the end of a hall, ending in double doors. The Doctor thrust them open and stepped into the cavernous room. One of the switches automatically flicked on as they entered. _Be nice if they fixed both lights_, she thought, though pushed the thought back.

The room was empty—the bleachers tucked away, the storage closet locked and all the equipment held within it—except a blue Police Box in the center of the basketball court. Light came through its cracked door, while wires snaked out until they connected to a metal, circular device a few feet away directly in front of the box.

The Doctor ran into the box, but Lynn stopped right outside. After all, it wouldn't fit both of them. Besides, what was this box doing in the middle of an primary school gym? The school didn't even own something like this.

She heard the doors of the gym swing open. Lynn turned. The slender man stood in the open door way.

"Well," the Doctor said behind her, making her jump. She spun around to see his head stuck out of the crack in the box's door. "You coming?"

Lynn stepped into the box and—her eyes widened.

The inside was as large as a football field. The walls shined silver—large cables lining them—and many spiral staircases winded up and down for what looked like miles. The walkway she stood on connected to a control area. The machinery encircled a giant crystal that glowed blue.

"What is this box?" Lynn said.

"_She_ is not a box," the Doctor replied, aiming his sonic screwdriver at her. "_She_ is a Tardis, and _she_ is very sensitive."

Lynn made a face, and then followed him to the control panel.

"Well, excuse me if I'm not acquainted with _this_," she said, gesturing around.

"Well, _this_ holds the power of several small universes within its walls. So she deserves a little respect."

"Yeah," Lynn said, rolling her eyes. "Well, you know, since this morning every time you have come around it's been nothing but trouble. Some really tall guy with no face chases us, and now _this_? A box that's bigger inside than out—excuse me, a _Tardis_ or whatever? And why aren't you listening to me?!"

The doctor watched a screen above the control panel, which showed the gym from the Tardis's side. The slender man walked toward it-the creature's movements jerky.

"Come on," the Doctor said, drumming his fingers on the controls. "Just a little closer."

The slender man stepped into the metal circle outside the Tardis's doors. The Doctor cried out, making Lynn jump, and threw a lever. Blue bars shot up from the circle, encircling the slender man. The creature touched the beams, but its hand recoiled when blue electricity zapped on contact.

"Yes!" the Doctor said, spinning around and darting back to the door. _God, doesn't he ever get tired?_ Lynn said, walking after him once again. When she exited the Tardis, the Doctor grinned as he examined the creature. The slender man turned with the Doctor, its expressionless face never straying. Lynn shivered.

"What is that," she asked, gesturing toward it.

"Wonderful," he replied. Lynn rolled her eyes.

"I _mean_ what _is _it?"

"That is the question isn't it! It's actually you."

"What…me?"

"Well, not you specifically," he said, and then stopped as though thinking about his words. "Oi, it's been a long time since I've had to explain myself. Okay, first off, have you ever heard of the Slenderman? Urban legend—tall man with no face. Steals children."

"So pretty much the boogyman."

"Exactly! When many beings with great creative ability have a collective image of something—if they fear it or love it—the minds' energy converge and create it. It's, for lack of a better word, a Mirage."

"Yeah," Lynn said, crossing her arms. "_Right_."

"Haven't you heard of bigfoot? The Lochness Monster? Ghosts? How so many people experience them, yet no one can find them? But they are never as powerful as this big fellow here," he gestured at Slenderman. "Beings created from human minds are usually an illusion. They can't touch anything, and usually evaporate in a day or so after its materialization."

"Well then," Lynn said. "How do you explain _that_?"

"That's what worries me," he said, looking up at the creature's face. "For a Mirage to continue to exist, it requires creative energy. This one seems to have learned how to absorb human essence, thus their creativity. The childrens' minds feed it."

The Doctor walked around the cage with Lynn a few steps behind. Finally, he stopped, held his chin, and grunted.

"So," Lynn said, the silence making the hairs on her arms stand. "It's actually alive then?"

"Well, as alive as a virus is," he said. "It's only purpose is to absorb enough essence to reach its full capacity." Lynn took a step toward the Doctor, so that only a few feet separated them.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, a wanderer, I suppose."

"Uh huh…yeah…_Right_."

The Doctor shifted to her, hand still on chin.

"Alright," he said. "I'm a time traveler."

"A _time traveler_," Lynn said, nodding. "Alright then."

"You're a very skeptical person. It's a bit annoying."

Lynn sighed and shook her head. After all that's happened-what she's seen that night-she knew that she should believe him. But what would her Dad say? _"Faerie Tales don't exist. You're wasting your time."_

"Sorry," she said. "It's just that this all kind of hard to process."

"I get that a lot," the Doctor said, turning back to the caged Slenderman. "Usually it takes—"

The Doctor froze.

"What is it?" Lynn asked, following his gaze up. The Slenderman looked right at her. Lynn stepped left. The creature's head followed. She moved right, and the Mirage's head turned. "Why is it doing that?"

When she looked back at the Doctor, he was watching her too.

"All of the children," he said. "The ones that went missing…they were from your class, weren't they? All of them."

Lynn's brow was furrowed. Was he saying that all of this was her fault? He—who just popped up out of nowhere with his blue box and all of this started to happen?

"What are you saying?" she asked.

The Doctor shook his head.

"Nothing…nothing at all."

A _wooooooom_ filled the room. The Doctor turned to the caged creature and then back to the Tardis.

"No," he muttered, running back toward the box. "No, no, no!"

"Oh, god," Lynn heard a voice echo from inside. She entered just behind the Doctor. Roger stood at the controls, trying to pull a lever back into place. When he saw them he froze.

"For the love of the Third Human Empire! Who are you and what are you doing?" The Doctor said. Roger stepped away, holding his hands up.

"I'm sorry," the young man said. "I didn't mean too. I just leaned against it and…"

The Doctor darted to the controls, took the lever in both hands, and pulled it back. Lynn walked over. _Does all he ever do is run?_

"Well thank goodness for that," the Doctor said. "We could have had a real prob—" He stopped when he looked up at the screen. Roger looked up, and froze as well. Lynn glanced at it. It showed the metal circle with the electric blue bars. Nothing was inside it.

"Something is telling me," the Doctor said, half to himself. "That I really shouldn't look at the door." He turned around, and Lynn turned with him—as though a force moved her body.

The Slenderman stood in the Tardis's doorway. It walked forward.

"What is that?" Roger whispered as the three edged back.

"Something nasty," The Doctor said.

The Mirage's arms stretched, closing in on them.

"Get back," he said, aiming his sonic screwdriver at the creature while pushing the two being him. The Tardis filled with the sound of _buzzed_.

"What are you doing?" Lynn asked. The Slenderman took a step closer, its long arms dragging on the floor. The Doctor didn't say anything. The Mirage stopped and cocked its head. "Doctor."

"A Mirage is made of Perspeciveral Energy—the very energy produced from the mind during thought," he said quickly. "This energy when attached to the mind is difficult to manipulate but when free-standing sonic waves can distorted it slightly."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm protecting _you!_"

The Slenderman stood still. Lynn tried to process everything-The children that were taken…they were all from her class…he was protecting her from it…_I can figure this out_, she thought. She knew she could. _Come on, use your imagination. What could all these things mean. It feeds off creative energy…all the children…the children—_Lynn's eyes widened.

"It's me," she said. "It's after me."

The Doctor turned, the _buzzing _of the screwdriver stopping. Roger's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean, Lynn?" the young man said.

"I _mean_ it's after _me_," she said. "It always has been. All of the children from my class. You said that the creature needed to reach its maximum capacity to keep stable, didn't you, Doctor? What if I had enough creative thought to sustain it?"

Lynn watched the Doctors face—hoping that he would say no and that it was all part of her imagination. But he just stared at her, with those blue eyes. It was as though she saw century's worth of sadness in them, and for the first time, she realized they looked older than the rest of him.

"Give me time," he whispered. "It doesn't have to end the way you think it has to."

"Then what other way, Doctor?" she said. "If I let it have me then it would stop. My kids would be safe."

"There is no guarantee about that."

"But it's the best shot we have!" Lynn said, and then took a deep breath. "I love them like my own, and would gladly die for them." She touched her stomach, and every time she thought about it an ache radiated through her. Lynn shook her head, forcing the thought away.

"Um, Doctor…Lynn…" Roger said. "It's moving again."

Lynn and the Doctor turned their heads. The Mirage stood only a few feet away. It raised its arm, though it was as though it did it in slow motion. As its arm rose higher, its speed increased. The woman stepped out from behind.

"Wait Lynn!" Roger said. "What are you doing?! You can't seriously give yourself to that!"

"There isn't any other way," she said.

"Doctor," Roger said. "I know about you. All those things you've done. All the people you've saved."

The Doctor said nothing—his face blank.

"I can't save anyone really," he muttered. Lynn turned back. Roger watched the Slenderman as though he hadn't heard the Doctor. She turned back. The Mirage fingers brushed her blouse. Lynn closed her eyes. Fingers gripped her arms and she flinched. She imagined the creature embracing her—becoming part of it. Did it hurt? Would she see the others it had taken?

Lynn was hurled back. She cried out as her side hit the grated floor. When she opened her eyes, the Doctor ran at the creature and tackled it. The Slenderman embraced him—its long arms wrapping around the Doctor and itself. The Doctor melted into the Mirage. Lynn stood and took a step, but Roger grabbed her wrist.

"There isn't anything you can do," he said, just as the last of the Doctor vanished. The Slenderman doubled over for a moment, shaking, but then stood. It was tall than before—at least ten feet-so Lynn had to crane her head up to see it. The Mirage's body shook—only for half a second—but then returned to normal.

"Oh my god," she said. She felt Roger's hand tremble. "What did you do, you stupid man?" The Mirage took a step forward. "Get back, Roger!" Lynn said, throwing her arms up. _I won't let you have him!_ "Listen to me. I'm going to distract it. When I do, run and don't look back!"

"Lynn, no! Look what it did to the Doctor!"  
"Don't question me!" Lynn said. "Just do it."

She turned back. Lynn took a deep breath. She had done it once, she could do it again. _Just think. Wait a minute…_

"Move," she said, running to one of the nearest walls.

"What are you doing?"

"Do you always have to ask what I'm doing?" She asked as she grabbed one of the large cables from the walls. It took her a few yanks, but it came loose—the end sparking. "All the power of several small universe, huh?"

She turned. The Mirage towered over her. Lynn thrust the cable forward. The Slenderman's limbs twitched as the cable's current ran through it. Static ran up her arm as Lynn held the cable. She gritted her teeth. It felt heavier and hotter, until finally her fingers gave and the sparking cable fell. The Slenderman convulsed. A crack ran down its face—light shining out of it. Light spilled over its body as the crack widened and extended down its body. The creature burst in a flash of light, hurling Lynn and Roger off their feet.

Lynn coughed as her vision returned. Everything looked darker, or was that just her? No, smoke surrounded her, but it was thicker than smoke. Though, as quickly as it had appeared, it started to dissipate. A cough echoed through the area.

"You know," a familiar voice said through the smog. "You could have done this a multitude of ways—clubbed it, threw something at it, slapped it—granted I hate violence.

Lynn rubbed her eyes. A silhouette emerged, going more and more defined until—

"Doctor?"

The Doctor stood before her, his hair sticking up and his tie nearly undone.

"Nevertheless," he said, extending a hand. "Well done."

She grabbed his hand and he pulled up.

"Roger?" She called.

"I'm over here," Roger said, before he too emerged from the disappearing smog.

"Sissy?"

Lynn's head searched through the fog. She knew that voice.

"No," she said in a whisper. "It couldn't be, could it?"

Finally the fog lifted. Andrew stood in the center of the Tardis, looking around with wide eyes. Behind him stood three other children and Jess, all of them shaking.

"I believe you have a job to do," the Doctor said, leaning in. "_Ms._ Breach."

Lynn smiled.

"Thank you, Doctor," she said, before running over to her children.

Within the hour, everyone was returned home. Lynn stayed with Jess and Andy for a little longer. Jess was still shaking, but she held Andy.

"I'll never let you go," she said to him. Lynn smiled. How she would like to have a someone like that…even if it was a brother. She sighed, said goodnight, and left. However, just as she walked out of the door, just beyond the streetlight on the other side of the road, Lynn noticed the Tardis and the Doctor leaning against it.

"Are they alright, then?" he asked as she walked toward him.

"Yeah," Lynn said. "I don't know how to thank you."

"Think nothing of it," the Doctor smiled and waved his hand. "What about Roger?"

"He went home shortly after everything," she said. "But…what happened. I saw you get taken. How did the Slenderman explode?"

The Doctor's grin widened.

"It overdid its self a bit," he said. "Absorbed one of the greatest sources of imaginative energy in the universe."

"You?"

"Well…not to brag. When it overreached its maximum capacity, the Mirage became unstable and then…bang! One shock, one hit would be enough for it to fall apart."

Lynn smiled. How could she have been so stupid? She should have been able to think of that!

"You make this stuff up as you go along don't you?" She said.

"I wish! I'm not _that_ brilliant."

"So, where you off too now?"

"Oh, I don't know," the Doctor said. "I hear the Bahamas' were nice in '72."

"All alone?"

"Yeah," he said. Lynn frowned. She knew how it felt to be alone, and thinking about the Doctor traveling alone made her sigh. "Oh, don't worry about me. It's better if I'm alone."

Lynn nodded.

"Alright," she said. "Just…take care of yourself."

"Will do," he said. The Doctor gave a little wave, and entered the Tardis. The light at the top of the box blinked on and off, and with a _WOOO-WOOO_, the Tardis gradually disappeared.

The Doctor stood at the control panel, watching Lynn until the Tardis entered the time vortex. He sighed. Maybe he should have invited her…_No. Things only get complicated that way_. He nodded. It was the only way to do things.

A _Clack _came from below.The Doctor's brow furrowed. He walked to the nearest spiral staircase and walked down. He reached the bottom floor—where piles of crates and hangers stood. A person stood in the middle of the room, fixing a hat stand he knocked over.

"Roger! What are you doing here?!"

Roger looked up, and we he saw the Doctor he gave a little laugh.

"Um…hi Doctor."

To Be Continued…

Coming Soon

"I'm taking you back," the Doctor said. As he walked over to the control panel, the Tardis shook.

"We're being pulled in!"

The two exited the Tardis to see a highway before them lined with tall, silver hotels. The ocean could just be seen between building gaps.

"Where are we?" Roger asked.

"New New Earth," the Doctor said "New New Daytona to be exact."

"You ever get that feeling," the Doctor said, looking out into the ocean. "When the sand beneath your feet is being pulled in by the sea. Ever wonder if it's really something else pulling it in?"

The giant squid emerged from the New Atlantic, its green tentacles as thick as a bus. One wrapped around a building as it pulled its self from the sea.

Doctor Who:

The Ancient Deep


End file.
